Not long after we arrived, our friends and fellow Band-mates treated us to a tour of Vietri Sul Mare and Amalfi, two towns on the Amalfi coast.  In Vietri Sul Mare, which is known for its ceramics, we visited the public beach (where we found lovely pottery and sea glass on the shore) and a huge ceramics factory/shop.  I definitely want to go back there with some cash (and maybe a mother or mother-in-law)!  We walked through the streets full of people, looked at beautifully decorated shops, and ate pasta and seafood at an outdoor cafe.  After lunch, we headed out to brave the crazy, winding roads to Amalfi, enjoying the gorgeous cliffs and coastal scenery on the way.  Amalfi, which is known for its huge lemons and limoncello liqueur, was bustling and full of tourists shopping in the narrow streets lined with expensive shops.  It’s always a trip, after spending so much time struggling to communicate in Italian, to go to a place where there are so many people speaking English!  We checked out the Duomo in the town plaza, bought some limoncello, ate gelato, drank caffe, and walked onto the pier and beach to get a proper view of the city.

On the way home, we stopped at a roadside vendor to buy fresh produce, which was grown on their farm, right next to their produce stand.  Side note: This whole area is filled with food being grown!  There is farming/gardening/growing, crops, orchards, vineyards, herds of sheep, etc, everywhere.  It feels so different to us that food would come from right here in the same place we live, sold straight from the farm, and purchased and eaten fresh every day… but, here, that’s just how it is.  We got a great view of Naples and Vesuvius on the road down from the mountains, and finally ended our day at the pizzeria.